


A Persuadable Temper

by Starbrow



Category: Persuasion - Jane Austen
Genre: Boat Sex, Crossdressing, F/M, Gender Roles, Historical Dress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-22
Updated: 2013-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-05 15:25:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1095614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starbrow/pseuds/Starbrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anne finds a way onto Captain Wentworth's woman-free ship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Persuadable Temper

**Author's Note:**

  * For [trailingviolets](https://archiveofourown.org/users/trailingviolets/gifts).



It had not even been half a day’s sailing round the coast when the _Fortuna_ was obliged to dock at L______ for additional shipments, which would not have been such an extraordinary inconvenience had there not been delays in the delivery, extending past sundown and lasting until a thick mist was upon the entire port. Captain Frederick Wentworth had no choice but to lay anchor for the night, though it irked him to begin a journey in such an inefficient fashion. He rued the inglorious assignment that had taken him from his bride. Were it not for duty, he might even now be with Anne and the Crofts, traveling about the countryside—perhaps even somewhere close by. At least she would not be left at home alone, a source of consolation for him as Sophie would take proper care of Anne and ensure she did not have much time to miss her husband. Alas for Wentworth, he had no such distractions, and could only assure himself of the favorable conditions for the passage, the comparative brevity of his mission, and the considerable welcome he might expect to receive upon his return.

He was almost sorry he had not been more inclined to change his mind on permitting women aboard ship when he considered the many nights he would be spending alone in his bunk. What to him had been an ordinary and constant characteristic of naval life a mere twelve-month ago now seemed an extraordinary evil, after the immeasurable happiness of a comfortable home and a loving wife in one’s bed every night. The smallness of the quarters was nothing; the lack of an Anne to fill them was everything.

A rap on the door secured his attention, and the sentry appeared to announce a newly arrived young gentleman who claimed he had secured passage on the ship. “Can’t Price attend to that?” said Wentworth with some irritation. The lieutenant could manage all the particulars of their inconvenient stop; it was hardly a captain’s responsibility to attend to minor details.

“This fellow insists on seeing you, sir,” said the sentry, and Wentworth, begrudging, told him to send the boy in, supposing he would have peace sooner by dismissing the matter than putting it off.

In came a young man of slight build and dressed handsomely; the only thing about him worth note was the brimmed hat that hung over his face. Wentworth did not trust any man whom he could not look in the eye. He ordered the youth to remove his cap and state his business.

“Sir, your orders are very hard to follow,” said the boy in a strange voice. “For I have sworn to obey you but I have also sworn never to leave you. Do these not appear to be contradictory?”

Wentworth was so astonished, he could only stare at the stranger and wonder if he were mad or come under false pretence. “No more of these riddles; reveal your purpose at once!”

“I have but one.” With one motion, the boy drew close, reached up and swept the hat off his head—and a cascade of dark hair tumbled down around shining eyes. “To be with you.”

“Anne!” How he had not known before—for of course it was she, he could see it now, the fine straight way she carried herself, the manner of her speech, even the tilt of her head—all that was dear and known to him, or so he had thought! He could only attribute his blindness to the unexpected way she had burst upon him, with no hint or suggestion of her coming, and no reason to suppose it might be her. He lost no more time in being apart from her; in an instant she was gathered up, pressed to him, and kissed most passionately. This was happiness; this was want and contentment both at once. She was as intoxicating as his memories; more, for she lived and breathed and returned his kisses as no phantom ever could.

“I can scarce believe it,” he murmured, turning his lips to the curve of her neck and breathing in her scent. “I have steeled myself against your absence for weeks, perhaps months yet—and here you stand in my arms. How can I be sure you are not a dream?”

Anne laughed, and held him more tightly for a moment, before releasing the embrace and taking a small step back, still clinging to his hand. “If you were to dream of me, would it be in this form?” She indicated the clothing she wore of overcoat, shirtsleeves, wainscoat, and close-fitting pantaloons.

“Not quite,” he admitted, taking in the sight of her lithe figure and letting his gaze linger over certain parts, “for I would be inclined to envision you in a silk gown, or better yet, nothing at all.”

She was not so long of a married woman that her cheeks did not glow with a very becoming blush at his cheek.

Spurred on by her reaction to his insinuations, Wentworth examined her with greater impertinence and from all angles as he moved around her. “However, there are certain advantages to your present attire which I had never considered before, not the least of which is the most intriguing sight you make from behind,” and here he could not resist illustrating just how intrigued he was by caressing her backside with the flat of his hand.

“You are very bold, sir,” said Anne, though she made no move to stop him; quite the contrary, she seemed to lean into his touch.

“No bolder than your coming here clothed thus, wouldn’t you agree?” His hands traced the outline of her hips, so winsomely displayed by the snug fit of the pantaloons, and holding firmly onto this pleasing grip, pressed flush against her, until she could not fail to comprehend the extent to which she affected him.

“Perhaps I was mistaken then,” she said, with a wayward glance over her shoulder. “I was under the impression that a yielding and indecisive character was to be avoided; that above all, you valued firmness.”

“Teasing, impudent creature! —to cast my own words back at me when I have no such weapons at my disposal.”

“I doubt very much you need words, Captain.”

“Indeed, I have little hope of winning any battle on that front, for you are more impenetrable in debate than a Spanish Man-o-War. But as you say, there are other means by which I might hope to achieve some small victory.”

“I have every confidence in your success.”

“You are generous. —But it will not suffice; in your boldness, you have left me several openings in your defence, and I will press my advantage.”

“I do not call buttons and waistcoats weaknesses, merely obstacles.”

“Ones easily overcome. Consider what progress would have been made had you been wearing women’s garments; consider how far I would yet have to go to reach any kind of vulnerable flesh. You have traded your feminine steel and bone for our far flimsier linen and cotton. Though man may claim the strongest offence, the advantage in tactical defense belongs entirely to the fairer sex.”

“So far, I admit you are right; —but what of other areas? Surely your sex must be more fortified by inexpressibles than women are by their skirts.”

“There, too, I would bring to your attention the ease with which any impediments are removed; a button here, a second there, and all obstacles fall away.”

She made no reply; she was fully persuaded of the utmost accessibility of the masculine outfit. He observed the part of her lips, the quick intake of breath, the flushed cheek, the closed eyes, and ventured further, one arm about her bared waist, supporting her weight (for he feared her knees would give way if he let go), and the other slipped between fabric and flesh.

“Frederick!” she cried, laughing and gasping at his boldness, and seeming to encourage it.

With a glance at the door, Wentworth put his lips to her ear. “Quietly, love. These walls are thin, and there is a host of lonely men on every side of us, and a sentry at the door.”

She nodded, and bit her lip to suppress her sighs, for he had not ceased his attentions while he spoke. “It occurs to me that you have another advantage, in being so familiar with the masculine garb,” she said, in a voice less steady than before. “You are aware of its operations and vulnerabilities, and have the benefit of many years of practice. I have no such advantage, but this one:” (turning, with a low sigh, to face him) “—that you too have the same vulnerabilities as I in its state.”

Wentworth stared in amazement and delight at the wonderful boldness of his Anne, who demonstrated her new knowledge in the male attire by divesting him of buttons, clips, and cloth, and applying her skilled and dexterous hands to his person (to his infinite pleasure and preference). It was a most tempting sight: Anne still half-accoutred in her strange and oddly appealing costume, made even more so by the peeping figure that emerged from its curtains, and smiling at him from her welcome post. It was too much to resist—he could wait no longer for her teasing ways; she would insist on pushing him to his limits, but he was less patient than she, and his need pressed him to distraction, stoked by the intimate knowledge of the pleasures that lay waiting for them, the immeasurable satisfaction of Anne’s blissful cries in his ears, and the unparalleled release of joining her in hysteric ecstasy.

No more delay; —his mind was made up, his object clear, his course of action firm and decided. With a haste urged on by the shortness of the time they had together, and a fervor inspired by his own need for her, Wentworth seized her round the hips, clasped her by the shoulders, and swung her into his arms. “Share my bed, siren, or I shall go mad.”

For her part, Anne flung her arms about his neck, holding there as though she never meant to let him go. “I would have no other.”

In reply, Wentworth could only claim her lips and stagger the short distance to the bunk with his precious cargo in tow.

~*~

What wonderful changes a few minutes’ time can produce! Where formerly had been heat and urgency, breathless movement and frenzied passion, in the space of not even half an hour’s time, now settled a most happy and sated tranquility, not less welcome for being so familiar to its joyful recipients following such moments. Wentworth could not have asked for more than the gratification of seeing Anne nestled against his side, her head on his breast and her dark hair tumbling down her back, looking more beautiful than any mortal woman had a right to be, and him happier than any mortal man deserved to be.

He stroked her shoulder with languid contentment, letting his eyes fall shut for a moment. “I hardly wish to question the circumstances of your presence here, lest it prove a very strange and fortuitous dream, from which I will awaken at any moment to find myself alone once more.”

“I hope I have done what I ought, to prove my reality,” she replied, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

“Certainly; I have no complaints on that account. But you can hardly blame me for curiosity regarding the particulars of your arrival.”

“If you mean my reason in coming, that is simple enough. I was in such low spirits after your departure, despite your sister and brother’s best efforts to tempt me into good humour, and the thought of doing without you for so long was nearly insupportable. Sophy said it really was too bad you would not change your mind about bringing me with you, and I confessed I quite agreed with her.”

“Blackening my character to my own sister, and I scarcely gone a week!”

“You laugh at my loyalty, but my desires speak for themselves; I wished only to remain by your side,” (embracing him fondly), “and you were hardly to be persuaded from your intent.”

Wentworth acknowledged his wife’s sincerity in this matter, and wisely changed the subject. “Well, go on.”

“As to the manner of my coming, it was almost entirely your sister’s doing. Upon arriving at the inn in L_______, we heard the surprising news that the _Fortuna_ was in port, most likely for the night. In jest, I remarked to Sophy that I was come in time to steal on board and wish you one last farewell. But she took me quite seriously and said she had often done that very thing! Once the idea was in her head, she would not be content until the plan had been arranged and the means secured.”

“I am grateful for this plan, make no mistake, but surely there could have been little difficulty in being admitted on board under your true identity.”

“But Frederick,” replied Anne, rising up on her elbows and smiling most winningly, “I have heard you declare in no uncertain terms that you would never willingly admit any lady on board a ship of yours for a visit of more than a few hours, and I had no wish to restrict our reunion to the limits of a mere hour or two.”

His eyes widened; there was no recourse against his own logic.

“Furthermore,” she continued, “this plan had the singular advantage of secrecy, as you are the only one who knows of my existence aboard the _Fortuna_. The others know only that a boy from one of the merchant companies has applied for passage, one who might make the captain an excellent cabin boy, if he should need such an attendant during the journey.”

The captain could make no reply to this; his astonishment knew no limits.

“But there is time yet to decide on the matter,” said Anne as she returned to her place on his shoulder and settled more snugly next to him, one long leg draped over him and her arm under his side, “and you will think more clearly in the morning when you are rested.”

Wentworth did not know whether to thank the gods or yield to his inevitable fate as the husband of a very persuasive woman.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to S and J for the last-minute betas, and to R for the brilliant idea to put Anne in pants! This story was so much fun to create, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.


End file.
